Dean Graber, owner of Rainforest Custom, talks Thursday, April 25, 2019, about his new shop on South Franklin Street that will display his and 14 other local artisans’ handicrafts. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Dean Graber, owner of Rainforest Custom, talks Thursday, April 25, 2019, about his new shop on South Franklin Street that will display his and 14 other local artisans’ handicrafts. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Forget diamonds. This new shop on Franklin showcases all local craftsmen

Over a dozen Juneau artisans will have their pieces sold

Dean Graber’s custom furniture and cabinet business has grown significantly over the last four years.

Rainforest Custom was a one-man operation when it opened in September of 2015, but as demand of his wooden goods increased, so did his workforce, with now three additional craftsmen employed full-time at its Don Abel Building Supplies workshop.

Beginning today, Graber’s workforce is expanding once again, as the Juneau businessman opens a new showroom and gallery on South Franklin Street for the summer. Rainforest Custom will host a grand opening today from 4-8 p.m.

“I wanted it to look more like a gallery than a gift shop,” Graber said in an interview inside his Franklin Street shop on Thursday. “You go into some of these places and it feels like overload.”

Two of Dean Graber’s pieces on display at Rainforest Custom on Thursday, April 25, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Two of Dean Graber’s pieces on display at Rainforest Custom on Thursday, April 25, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

The crafts range widely in size — cutting boards and cupboards line parts of the walls — and price — an electric guitar retails at roughly $2,000, while a small toy whale is $20. Graber estimates 85 percent of the products were produced at his shop, with the remainder of the items coming from 14 Juneau artisans such as Henry Webb, Colin Dukes, George Gress and Jon Lyman.

“It’s unique to have something this close to the ships that is all Juneau-made,” Graber said. “That was my point (in opening). There’s a lot of makers in this town, and I’d like to celebrate that. I think that’s a good thing, something that just isn’t done much anymore. Makers are going by the wayside.”

The shop was still filling out its inventory as of Thursday morning. Alaskan Wooden Toys owners Ed and Kathy Hansen came through the front doors just after 10:30 a.m. carrying three plastic totes of toys. Kathy thinks the shop will attract “a different clientele” than the other gift shops that carry her toys.

“A person isn’t going to walk in this store thinking, ‘I’m looking for a toy to buy,’” she said.

Dean Graber, owner of Rainforest Custom, left, talks with Ed Hansen on Thursday, April 25, 2019, about Hansen’s wooden toys and boxes that will be for sale at Graber’s new shop on South Franklin Street. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Dean Graber, owner of Rainforest Custom, left, talks with Ed Hansen on Thursday, April 25, 2019, about Hansen’s wooden toys and boxes that will be for sale at Graber’s new shop on South Franklin Street. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Graber was originally was going to open up next to the Glory Hall homeless shelter. However, after signing a lease for the location, the businessman came to the shop in February to find it “raining inside” and was forced to search for another spot.

“Within the timeframe of a week, I went from (being) almost destitute, to having a new place, the best place I can imagine,” he said.

Helicopter trips and other tours were sold out of the space last summer, and several years before that it was home to Tracy’s King Crab Shack.

While Graber will have to move out at the end of the season — the lease is only for this summer — he’s keeping his eye out for a permanent location elsewhere downtown.

With the beginning of tourist season just around the corner — the first ship arrives Sunday — the Juneau businessman is excited to see how things turn out.

“I couldn’t ask for a better spot,” he said.

IF YOU GO

Rainforest Custom will be open 8 a.m.-8 p.m. on ship days, and hours will vary if there are no ships in port. A 10 percent discount will be awarded to locals throughout the year.


• Contact reporter Nolin Ainsworth at 523-2272 or nainsworth@juneauempire.com.


More in News

The Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Encore docks in Juneau in October, 2022. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
Ships in Port for the Week of May 28

Here’s what to expect this week.

File Photo
Police calls for Saturday, May 27

This report contains information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Dozens of Juneau teachers, students and residents gather at the steps of the Alaska State Capitol on Jan. 23 in advocacy for an increase in the state’s flat funding via the base student allocation, which hasn’t increased sizeably since 2017 and has failed to keep pace with inflation during the past decade. A one-time funding increase was approved during this year’s legislative session. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)
What’s next for the most debated bills pending in the Legislature?

Education funding increase, “parental rights” and other proposals will resurface next year.

Emergency lights flash on top of a police car. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
Police investigate assault in Lemon Creek area

“JPD does not believe there is any danger to the public at large.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Feb. 24, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. DeSantis has filed a declaration of candidacy for president, entering the 2024 race as Donald Trump’s top GOP rival (AP Photo / John Raoux)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis launches 2024 GOP presidential campaign to challenge Trump

Decision revealed in FEC filing before an online conversation with Twitter CEO Elon Musk.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Police calls for Wednesday, May 23, 2023

This report contains information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

A channel flows through the mud flats along the Seward Highway and Turnagain Arm in Alaska on Oct. 25, 2014. Authorities said, a 20-year-old man from Illinois who was walking Sunday evening, May 21, 2023, on tidal mud flats with friends in an Alaska estuary, got stuck up to his waist in the quicksand-like silt and drowned as the tide came in before frantic rescuers could extract him.  (Bob Hallinen / Anchorage Daily News)
Illinois man gets stuck waist-deep in Alaska mud flats, drowns as tide comes in

“…It’s Mother Nature, and she has no mercy for humanity.”

Most Read